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Sitcoms of the Here and Now!

I don’t post much on television shows, and even less on comedies, but I wanted to bring attention to a couple sitcoms. I usually give new sitcoms a couple minutes of a chance — that’s all I need to decide if they’re for me, and almost always they’re not. So I was surprised to find myself thoroughly in love with The Mick, a new Fox series airing regularly on Tuesday nights, and irregularly whenever Fox feels like it. It stars Kaitlin Olson from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, another sitcom that didn’t gel for me. But I like the dynamic and out-there comic sensibility of The Mick. Olson plays Mickey, a rough-and-ready aunt to three spoiled and disrespectful rich kids.

Comedy, as I’ve noted before, is tough. It’s also subjective, I guess. So check it out for yourself; I recommend starting with the first episode, but it’s not critical. You may be able to watch it free on-demand via your cable/satellite service; it’s also available on the Fox Now app, though you can’t fast-forward through the commercials.

With a show like this, who knows how long it will last… or how long it will remain funny.

The Mick, Ep. 1

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Also from Fox, Baskets season 2 began last Thursday 1/19 on FX.

Ever since I saw Due Date (no, notThe Hangover), which as a side note was the first movie I saw in San Luis Obispo, I’ve been a fan of Zach Galifianakis. If for some reason you’re not aware of his brand of humor, watch a few of his “Between Two Ferns” segments on YouTube.

Baskets started off awkwardly, both in the comedic, intentional sense best exemplified by The Office, but also in the clumsy, this-is-not-funny way. My initial reaction was nearly to discontinue viewing — as you can gather, I have a short fuse when it comes to sitcoms, even those starring Zach Galifianakis. But the show was nonetheless intriguing, if not hilarious. It grew on me, and then made a swing upward with Ep. 4, “Easter in Bakersfield,” and then Ep. 5, “Uncle Dad” pushed me into dedicated fan territory.

True the comedy is stilted, but that’s the point. It’s a balance of humor and the melancholy, and can be quite touching at times — as evidenced so well in the first episode of Season 2.

Besides streaming options, FX airs last week’s episode of its shows, Baskets included, on the night of the new episode — so DVR both on Thursday if you missed the first one.